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Originally Posted by Old Junker my friend who also purchased a powertap the same time as me and hates doing TT's has offered to lend me his powertap  as he thinks i was crazy for getting rid of it  , now i am looking into wheel covers , so i am back to making a lastminute decision come race day  .
i am only racing for myself not a placing so if the difference is only 10 seconds then power seems to be the way to go, might be different for those looking to break 53 or 54minutes |
There is no generic answer to your question. It turns on three issues, all of which are specific to you and your equipment and your course. First, how good are you at managing your power at and near your FTP? Can you put a piece of masking tape over the watts display of your PT and ride within a couple of watts of your target power for an hour? Or, do you (like most of us) start out too hard and then have to back off in the 2nd half, resulting in a fairly large difference between AP and NP? Second, what is the course (grades and normal wind conditions)? If the course has numerous grade and wind changes, it argues for a variable power pacing strategy (which is much more difficult to manage without a PM). Third, what is the drag difference between the wheels you are considering? There are test data available on most wheels at biketechreview.com. In the end, it comes down to a set of computations and a probability distribution of predicted outcomes (with all due respect to those who think it comes down to attitude, sweat in the eyes, burning in the lungs and all that "You can do it if you think you can do it!" stuff). I advocate making cold, unemotional decisions about equipment and strategy, then going out and executing the strategy. Anyway, there's always the last 5 mins when you have the finish line in sight to ride your guts out, cross the line and pass out.